Nebraska Nightly; Cooper Nuclear; My Antonia *; Petition Rally; Equalization Board *; Wizard Of Oz; World War II Commemoration; Pacesetter Academy; Graduation Fears Commentary; Blue River Compact *; Sac Crawl Through; Interest Rates; Crime Statistics; Jackie Kennedy Onassis Death; Midwest Delegation; Execution Dates Policy

The State Supreme Court hears please to set execution dates for inmates on death row. This is Nebraska Nightly, I'm Nancy Finken. The State's highest court held a hearing today where the attorney general and lawyers are presenting three death row inmates presented their sides in issues related to the setting of execution dates. Attorney General Don Stenberg has been critical of the court. If this court were to adopt this policy and to follow it, no execution would ever again be carried out in the state of Nebraska. Willa Cather's Maya Antonia is going to be a TV movie, the production company has announced plans to shoot the film at the store museum. Maya Antonia Project is a $3 million project and about that total budget and the production company estimates that they'll spend about $750 ,000 on the production in the Grand Island area. And Keith Lutton sits down with politicians from Lebanon who have been visiting Nebraska learning about the U .S. political system, but first this news from Dave Hughes. Nebraska Governor Ben Nelson says it would not do any good

to call the legislature into special session to restore term limit provisions to the state constitution. Nelson says that after meeting with key lawmakers, he concluded that the legislature would not reach a consensus on the issue before its regular session in January. Last week, the State Supreme Court threw out term limitations for elected state officials. It also nullified provisions limiting ballot access for candidates for the U .S. House and Senate. The High Court concluded that the petitions which were used to put the term limit issue before voters in 1992 didn't carry enough signatures. Nebraska U .S. Senator Bob Kerry thinks voters should focus less on term limits and more on how to get better people to run for office in a conference call with Nebraska news media today. Kerry said he has not read the decision, but trusts that the state Supreme Court is right. Kerry says that once you're elected to Congress, the public starts viewing you as a bum, and that's one reason many of his colleagues are not seeking re

-election. The State Department of Social Services is likely to appeal if federal judges ruling against a $2 copayment for Medicaid prescriptions. U .S. District Judge Richard Cump of Lincoln ruled in favor of pharmacists who objected that they were not protected against Medicaid recipients who did not make the copayment. marijuana valued at over $15 ,000 was seized along interstate 80 by the Nebraska State Patrol near Ogallala yesterday, Christine Mays from KOGA reports. According to the Nebraska State Patrol, a 26 -year -old South Dakota man was stopped at 3 .30 p .m. mountain time for speeding three miles used to Vogelara, a state trooper detected a faint odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. The state patrol says the driver, John Lee Legrand, Jr. of Brandon, verbally can send a to a search of the vehicle. The state patrol feeds 15 .7 pounds of processed marijuana, which was wrapped in two separate packages. Police dog Travis is in the search. Legrand and

two other passengers, 31 -year -old Douglas Raymond Kira of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and 19 -year -old Maggie Elaine Ostrick of Brandon were all charged with possession with the intent to distribute possession of marijuana more than one pound and failure to a fixed state drug tax stamp. The individuals were to be arranged in Keith County Court on Tuesday afternoon. In Ogallala, I'm Christine Mays. The child abuse and manslaughter trial for 23 -year -old Billy Phillips of Geneva is underway in Fillmore County District Court. Phillips is charged in the death of his nine -week -old baby son. Investigators said the child Trevor Britt Phillips died of strangulation and suffocation in November. An autopsy showed that the baby had suffered fractured ribs and had been deprived of food, clothing, shelter, and care. The parents of an eight -year -old in Lincoln face child abuse charges after their son telling the school counselor about a history of abuse at the hands of his parents. Please say

that on at least one occasion, the child was locked overnight in a portable dog kennel. Investigators also say the boy had been hit by his mother, causing a cut that required three stitches, names of those involved have not yet been released. May Costa City of Macook, 1 million to bring its landfill into compliance with federal and state environmental standards. City Manager John Carter says the state may force the city to install a liner that would protect area groundwater from garbage seepage. The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality has issued a permit to the city, but says it must address 17 issues, including the liner. For Nebraska Nightly, I'm Dave Hughes. The Nebraska Supreme Court today heard arguments on issues related to the courts' authority to set execution dates. Attorney General Don Stenberg and attorneys representing death row inmates presented briefs and oral arguments in this unusual proceeding.

Carolyn Johnson has the story. 11 people are in death row in Nebraska, and no one has been executed for a capital crime in the state since Charlie Starkweather. The Nebraska Supreme Court has not set an execution date since 1992 in the case of Harold Lamont Ote, convicted of the 1977 murder of Jane McManus. That execution was stayed by district judge Warren Irbaum and has not been rescheduled. On Tuesday, in an unusual proceeding, the court, at its own request, heard argument on questions related to the setting of execution dates. Should the Supreme Court set an execution date when a federal court has issued a stay of execution, or at any time when there's a pending federal procedure in a capital case? And the most basic question, does the court have authority to set execution dates? Attorney General Stenberg gave his opinion about setting an execution date when there is any federal proceeding pending. If this court were to adopt this policy and to follow it, no execution

would ever again be carried out in the state of Nebraska. The responsibility of a criminal defense lawyer in a capital case is to keep his client alive. If this court says that all you need to do to keep your client alive is to be sure there is a federal habeas proceeding on file at all times, there will always be a federal habeas proceeding in file. He argued that federal courts are out of line in accepting repeated appeals from people on death row. A federal habeas proceeding is essentially an interference with, by the federal courts, with the carrying out of the law of the state of Nebraska. Stenberg pointed out that OTA is in his third appeal to the federal courts. But OTA's attorney, Sean Rinner, responded that the right of appeal is vital to the democratic process. Courts have a vitally important role in the operation of our government. You're one of three branches of the government, obviously. In some senses, you're the most important branch of the government because you have the authority under well -established law to review

decisions of the other two branches of the government. The governor, the attorney general, executive officers, officers can't review decisions of the judicial branch, the same with the legislature. Courts have taken that power and that power has been respected since Marbury versus Madison. For one simple reason, there are institutional constraints on the power of courts reflected in the state constitution, which limit a court's ability to exercise this awesome power. Rinner asserted that the Supreme Court has no statutory authority to set an execution date in OTA's case. Rinner said state law does give the Supreme Court authority to set an execution date when it considers a case on direct appeal, or when the board of pardons rejects a request for clemency. OTA's case has already been through both those processes. Rinner argued that the case having been appealed to the federal courts is no longer in the jurisdiction of the state Supreme Court. Each of those circumstances, your honors, those statutes contemplate that the court determining whether or not it ought to set a date has jurisdiction over a case and over a person

in order to act. And that situation is not present here. Stinberg noted that six execution dates have been set for OTA and all have been lifted. He argued that this evasion of the court's order thwarts the authority of the state. He elaborated on this topic in discussing the cases of two other death row inmates. John Dubert convicted in 1983 of the murders of Danny Joe Eberley and Christopher Walden. And Charles Jess Palmer convicted in 1980 of killing Eugene Zimmerman. A federal stay of execution has been an effect in the Palmer case since 1984. It specifically enjoins the warden of the state penitentiary from carrying out the execution. Justice Nick Caperelli questioned Stinberg. How is there anyone else that can carry out an execution other than the warden of the state penitentiary? The warden can delegate that the way he's enjoying from doing so. There's a stay in, he's enjoying from doing so. You can carry it out. No one. Then what is the purpose of this court setting a date of execution? The purpose

of this court setting a date of execution as I would see it, your honor, is so that we can try and move this case through the federal court. No, we're just expect this court to set the time schedule for the federal court. Well, your honor, I think that something needs to be done. The Dubert case specifically has been in federal court for two years and 11 months. And remains undecided by the U .S. District Court. Dubert, do you have any of the U .S. District Court? You don't have any, your honor, but if you will give us an execution date, we will go to the 8th Circuit and to the U .S. Supreme Court to seek to set aside this day so that the execution can be carried out. Stinberg said the Dubert appeals are frivolous, which brought a response from Gary Dome and the attorney representing Dubert. To have this case moved along is obviously an interest, conceitedly as a defense counsel, as appointed counsel in these cases. I like to see these cases move along too. That is the intent of the statutes. That is the purpose

behind the orders entered by this court. But when a federal court has issued a stay of execution and by interpretation as concluded, the meritorious issues are presented that need to be addressed. I find it inconceivable that we would be asked to come forward to defend our action and proceeding on the very first federal appeal, as of right, to defend ourselves and be asked why we are proceeding, why a station be issued. The Supreme Court has heard all these arguments before, as capital cases have come before them. Stinberg expressed his major concern if the court, after hearing the arguments again on Tuesday, decides not to set execution dates while federal appeals are pending. Certainly, on our policy of this court of not setting execution dates until federal proceedings are concluded, would be the end of the death penalty in Nebraska as surely as if the legislature repealed the law. The unusual procedure of asking for oral

arguments and briefs, specifically addressing the issue of setting execution dates, may indicate the Supreme Court is moving toward a definitive policy. For Nebraska Public Radio, I'm Carolyn Johnson. We'll be the subject of a made -for -TV movie on the USA Network. Appropriately, the filming is going to take place in Nebraska, mostly at the Stewart Museum's railroad town in Grand Island. The authentic 1890s pioneer town is just what the producers needed since my aunt and Mia is set in the 1890s to 1910. Stewart Museum Executive Director Sandy Yoder says the museum has been the setting for several film and video projects. The history is only at Stewart Museum goes back quite a few years. One of the first ones we did was a PBS Wonder Works presentation of

Home At Last. This is a story about the orphan trains that came into Nebraska at the turn of the century. In 1990, we were privileged to be part of the filming of Thera Plain and Tall, which was done for Hallmark Hall of Fame. We were also part of an NBC Unsolved Mystery Spagment, and we're used very, very frequently throughout Nebraska, for it by the National Educational Television Network, NETV. In fact, they're out here tonight filming us a World Cancer Short Story. Yoder says the museum works very closely with the Nebraska Film Office, and with the Omaha Douglas County Film Office as well as the Hall County Convention and Visitors Bureau to bring projects to the museum. It certainly does help with revenue. We will be receiving some location fees and we're still in the process negotiating those. In addition to that, we view the quality of this type of production as part of our educational mission too. The story of my aunt and Mia is going to be talking about life in central Nebraska in the 1890s to 1910, and that's the museum's mission. Our main theme is talking about town building from 1840

to 1910, and a lot of the issues that are kind of supplementary and background issues to the action that's happening in this love story is also the issues that we're dealing with here, so it is part of our educational mission. And it's also part of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development mission, Film Officer Mary Ethel Immanuel. My aunt and Mia project is a $3 million project, and about that's total budget. And the production company estimates that they'll spend about $750 ,000 on the production in the Grand Island area, in Grand Island and Hall County and surrounding areas. That's not counting the fact that all the crew, all the cast will be eating their meals there, buying groceries there, if they're living in apartments, renting cars, buying gas, buying things like shampoo, things like that, renting cars. So there's a lot of money that's really not spent

on the production, which is considerable, but which the cast and crew spend in the area. And I know in tourism, the tourism money rolls over, we say, has a roll over of $2 .7, so every dollar that a tourist spend is re -spanned on an average of 2 .7 times. So the same would hold true for any film dollars coming into this state. I imagine would roll over in the community to be re -spanned. Emmanuel says the popularity of Westerns in Pioneer Life fits Nebraska nicely. It all started with dances, with wolves, and unforgiven, and it became clear that people were interested in Westerns, and cowboy movies began. And we have lots of wonderful locality sites and areas in Nebraska, for things like that to be filmed. And so it is fortuitous timing, because we're here and open to the film industry. Stewart Museum Executive Director Sandy Yoder says the production company plans to cast as many extras as they

can from the Grand Island area. This Saturday, there's going to be what they're calling a clothing call. Anyone throughout the state who has proper period clothing from the 1890s is welcome to come to the museum from 10 o 'clock to noon. And the costume designer is going to be on site, and she's going to be looking at people in their clothing. And in essence, people have a chance to be an extra with that clothing. After they've seen what's available here, then she's going to go back to LA and work on getting the rest of the clothing that will be needed. And they'll be more extras cast later. A lot of our staff are going to be working behind the scenes to help with the things that we need to help with to make it a good place for them to film. But also some of our staff have been in movies in the past, and we're going to try and work with them that way again, too. Yoder says filming begins June 20th and should last three or four weeks. She says the filming will take place weekdays and should not disrupt normal museum traffic. It is going to be an open set, which means that visitors are welcome to watch the filming going on. There will be times when certain rooms or certain

houses are closed off. But we're going to try and work with our visitors to make sure that they still have an excellent experience when they're with us. Sandy Yoder is the executive director of the Stewart Museum and Railroad Town in Grand Island, where USA Network is going to film a made for TV movie based on Willa Cather's My Antonia. It starts Jason Robards and Eva Marie St. The New York Times Political leaders, business leaders, and even a few journalists have been getting a different perspective on the world for the past couple of days. A delegation of young political leaders from Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon have been visiting Nebraska as part of a cultural exchange sponsored by the American Council of Young Political Leaders. Keith Leiden talked with Gassan Mukhi Iber and Moafak Ella Yafi about their visit to Nebraska and their perspective on American politics and Middle East

issues. Mr. Mukhi Iber, what kind of impressions have you gathered from visiting it in the US? What sticks in your mind most? Well, I think it was a very interesting trip. Let me recognize first that it was a trip organized by an organization called the American Council for Young Political Leaders. It was done so that a group of Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptians would have the opportunity to get the first hand impression of how the American government works at both the federal, state, and local county levels. And for as much as we abroad, I mean, not in the United States, we have some knowledge on how the American government is organized. We never got as much as we did on this trip into some technical issues that gave us a much clearer understanding of how your policy is taken, how your decision -making is dealt, and also how your democratic system

works. Mr. Yafi, what differences have you seen? In fact, your political system has a lot of checks and balances, which we miss in our country. Our country, we have a lot of freedom, but we miss the mechanical or the means how to change. We don't have the means of changing. Democracy obliges us to have a means of changes. In our country, we have a lot of freedom. We can say whatever we want, 11, I mean, but we cannot change. In the United States, we noticed that these two parliaments and this full system that is being built up on checks and balances gives a lot of flexibility and enables the regime to develop itself all the time, which is excellent. When you say it's more difficult to change, do you mean it's more

difficult to change the leadership or it's more difficult to change the law? It's more difficult to change the law, and so the leadership is being able to handle things and confronting the people to change, because they have the means of the regime in our country. And so we cannot change, because the law is for their benefit and not for the benefit of the total people by themselves. Another thing I want to ask you about, in terms of comparisons between the two regions, the two geographic areas, in the Middle East, religion pays a large role in the political system. Here in the United States, we're seeing something of the same thing with a rising role of political leaders who are espousing religious positions.

Do you see similarities between those two phenomenons or are they very much different things? I answered, when you asked me the first question, when I answered that our politicians are playing a big role in differentiating people, and you don't have the means to change our political regime, because they are playing this role, they are trying to differentiate people according to their sects, to their religions, and to tribes even. And this is, I'm not in the Middle East, this is, I'm talking especially in Lebanon. And this is why we are not able to develop our political system. This is a main issue in our system. What helps you in the United States, as we noticed, the flexibility that you have in your regime by the checks and balances. So no one could stop anything from developing and from going on. While in our country, anyone can stop it. You have worded your question, terming as a

comparison between the United States and the Middle East. One gave it, I'd like to put to the press and also to the people, that there's this mix considering that the Middle East is one monolithic entity, or one sort of a federation that looks like the United States of America. This is very different for as much as you would make the same, I would almost say mistake by terming everybody else than the Arab countries do this and think that, and this is the policy of the Arabs. People that consider themselves as Arab countries have very different political structures, and have sometimes opposing policies on many issues. And therefore, it is, I would say, wrong to compare the Middle East to the United States because we're comparing apples and pears. Now, on the substance of your question, I understand also that there's concern in the United States, and there's concern also in those countries back in the Middle East over the rising importance

of religion in shaping up policies and its role in the making of democracy. It is a very important issue, that the countries themselves and the Middle East are trying to overcome some, like the experience that happened in Algeria, where legislator was overcome overwhelming majority was won by overwhelming majority of Islamist fundamentalist. The government and the army stepped in to stop a democratic process, because they also feared that bringing extremist Muslims to government through democratic processes was by itself the seed for establishing an anti -democratic process that will follow from that legislature. I think the issues that will come forth in the Middle East and that all will have to think about, including the United States,

are democratization. It's a very important issue that would come about if and when we have peace, democratization that is tied up to the role of religion in making up policy and shaping up governments in the area. And the way that those governments and the foreign international community will have to deal with Islam, these are huge question marks over how this will be approached and dealt with. And the second one, a very important one, is economic development and switching from an economy of war to an economy of peace and economy of developments in countries, and particularly those Arab countries, who are devoting a huge amount of their budget to war economy. If we had put the means of implementing democracy, this wouldn't relate anything with

any religion or any sect. The major issue is fanatism. It's not neither Islam nor Christianity nor Judaism. It's the matter of what can we do in implementing real democracy? This is the main issue. If we implemented it right, no one can confront it. But if we left others trying to tailor it according to their personal interest, nothing would be developed. On that note, let me ask both of you what hope you have for this region of the country, for the Middle East region of the other world, excuse me, given the recent events between Israel and the Palestinian people? I think like democracy, peace is being understood as a process. It's a long way to peace. And peace does not stop by

the signature of a document and it may crumble right after a signed document. I think peace is a process. And you can reach a peaceful settlement where the parties get to the conclusion that they can reach a lesser goal than they have set for themselves through war action. In that instance, I think that I hope that Israel would have reached a point where it considers that it cannot hold to all the territories it had seized and it is ready to trade in land for peace. And the Arab countries and the Palestinians have reached also an understanding of a conclusion where they cannot overcome the reality of the existence of the state of Israel and they would wish to settle for less than just destroying the state of Israel but regaining faith,

regaining the lost territories, and finding a solution for the Palestinian problem because that was an uprooted, a whole people was uprooted and the solution for that people need to be established. So it seems that the parties are starting, are willing to talk to each other and this is a good start but certainly is not the end. It will be a long way and I am hopeful. I am hopeful but I don't see that the Middle East after a peace is signed would be the same than the one we know now. Gassan Mokyabir is an attorney and a member of Lebanon's Assembly of the Republic. Moa Fakiliyafi is an accountant and the secretary of a political parliamentary block in Lebanon both live in Beirut. Nebraska Knightley is a production of the Nebraska Public Radio Network, Keith Leiden and Carolyn Johnson are associate producers. Dave Hughes directs our show and Jeff Smith is the audio engineer tonight. I'm Nancy Finken

producer. We head out this evening from KOGA Ogulala. The views and opinions expressed on the preceding program are those of the commentators, interviewees and guests and not necessarily those of the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission or the staff and management of the Nebraska Public Radio Network. Rukha Shelf program 51894. It's now 630 Central Time. Crime rates between 1992 and 1993 dropped overall outside Omaha but juvenile crime increased. This is Nebraska Knightley. I'm Nancy Finken. Coming up we'll make some sense out of state crime figures which show a 7 % decrease between 92 and 93. The people that I've worked with historically the chiefs and sheriffs

across the state that while they feel good about this certainly realize that this isn't the end of the kinds of fights and battles that we all are going to wage and I know you all know that. Omaha Public Schools and Paste Center Corporation are teaming up for an after school and summer school education project designed to give underprivileged kids a leg up. The state board of equalization and the revenue department are crossing all the teas and dotting all the eyes and an attempt to make property tax equalization efforts work. This is the first time in my history of working with property tax and it's a long time that the board has taken the effort and this is the second special meeting they've held just to review the process. Just to see what's going on and the Emmy Gifford Children's Theater in Omaha presents the Wizard of Oz. Steve Adair will have that report coming up but first this news from Dave Hughes. More federal aid is available for people who had damage in last year's flooding. Nebraska has received an additional $13 million

in federal money and it will take about 30 days to develop the application process for the aid. Damage to commercial property as well as housing could be covered by the program. Nebraska gambling interests are holding off on commenting about how a Iowa vote to expand gambling might affect the Cornersker state. Ex -Sarbon spokesman Terry Wallace says the thoroughbred horse racing track will wait to see what happens. The state health department's vital statistics report shows that Nebraska's on average are living longer than ever before. The report released this week in Lincoln says the average age of death for Nebraska's reached a record high of 74 .3 years in 1992. For men, the average age of death increased for the fourth year in a row, topping out at a record of 70 .9 years and women lived to be a record high average of 77 .7 years. Heart disease was the leading cause of death followed

by cancer. Nebraska's birth rate has hit an all -time low. The state health department says there were 14 .7 births for every 1 ,000 people in the state during 1992. That's the lowest rate since records started in 1925. The previous record low was 14 .8 births per 1 ,000 people in 1973. A 17 -year -old Omaha youth has been charged with first -degree murder in the shooting death of another teen along interstate 80. Scott Ladwig is scheduled to be arraigned on the murder charge and use of a weapon to commit a felony later today. He's accused of shooting 19 -year -old Bobby Ashley to death in bumper to bumper traffic on I -80. Witnesses have said the dispute may have been over money. A fight last fall between two girls who knew Ashley led to the shooting death of 17 -year -old Tamiko Jones of Omaha.

The incident also costs a life of Jones' baby, who was delivered by Cesarean section after the shooting. 17 -year -old Justin Williams was convicted last month of first -degree murder in Jones' death. A Madison County Grand Jury investigation into the jail death of a Norfolk man is expected to take two days. County prosecutor Joe Smith says a 16 -person jury with three alternates has been seated to look into the death of 19 -year -old Heath Delp. Delp died while in the custody of law enforcement officials at the Madison County jail on April 29. At the time, authorities said he died of natural causes. State law requires a grand jury investigation anytime someone dies in law enforcement custody. A widely wood -frained voting booth has been retired after giving 80 years of service to the barley precinct in Cherry County. A precinct that has just 51 registered voters. Election workers say the booth is so battered and full of holes that

it might be possible for someone to peek inside and see how a citizen is voting. An inscription on the booth's tattered canvas curtain carries the date May 28, 1914. Work has started on a new multi -million dollar softball complex near Hastings that might include soccer fields in the future. The Nebraska Softball Association is building four lighted softball fields, two practice fields, a grandstand, a clubhouse, a parking area, and other features on a 60 -acre site near US Highway 281 just north of Hastings. As funding becomes available, the city might add the soccer fields. Complex will be able to accommodate districts, state, regional, and even national tournaments. And if construction stays on schedule, the complex will open next spring. And Nebraska's 1994 Girls and Boys Soccer Championships will be decided tonight at Omaha Bryan High School, Millard North and Papia and Levista kicked off at 6 p .m. Central Time for the Girls Crown, and Omaha Burke plays Blair at 8 .15 for the boys title.

For Nebraska Nightly, I'm Dave Hughes. Reported crimes from 1992 to 1993, decreased by 7 % in Nebraska, but these statistics from the Nebraska Crime Commission do not include Omaha figures, because the Omaha tracking system is not compatible with the state system. Crime Commission Chairman Alan Curtis says he's pleased with the decrease, but it isn't time to relax efforts. The people that I've worked with historically, the chiefs and sheriffs across the state, while they feel good about this, certainly realize that this isn't the end of the kinds of fights and battles that we all are going to wage, and I know you all know that. One of the most encouraging figures Curtis says is from Lexington. Over the last couple of years, Lexington has had the highest crime rate, crimes per 1 ,000 population, and we're very pleased to see that last year they were down 20%. And I'm sure they are pleased, and they're working very hard out

there. And I think all of you know that Lexington is a city experiencing a great deal of growth and change, and that always brings problems, but it's clear that Lexington is trying to deal with those, while they wouldn't have experienced that kind of reduction. While the overall state decrease in crime is 7%, violent crime Curtis notes has decreased 6%. That's another statistic he's pleased to see. That's 147 people in the state of Nebraska that won't be murdered, raped, robbed or assaulted. That's great. Nationally, violent crime is down 1%. The only category that there was an increase in violent crimes in the state, there was a 15 % increase in felony assaults in cities of 5 to 100 ,000 population, and then cities of 5 ,000 or less saw a rise of 9 % in rape and 100 % in robberies. Bear in mind though that we're talking about going from two robberies to four robberies in those cities. So that sounds like a large percentage increase, but it's really not something that the

numbers would say were particularly significant. Property crimes down 6%, as I said earlier, the nation's 3%, so that's looking real good. In Lincoln, there was a 52 % increase in arson, going from 50 cases in 1992 to 76 cases in 1993. Motor vehicle theft in Lincoln also increased 11%, from 1992 to 1993. On a nationwide basis, we saw that happening nationally, increasing up until 1992. After that, now the nation has kind of leveled off, and Nebraska is kind of behind that trend. That's my personal belief is what's going on, and that's not unusual for us to sometimes fall behind on a trend like that. So we're experiencing that now. Statistics provided by Omaha Police Captain Michael London track the increase of auto theft in Omaha. In 1988, there were 1 ,405. That was up 15

% from 1987. The next year, there were 1 ,466. And that was a 4 % increase. Car thefts decreased 8 % in 1990. But in 1991, they went up 29%. In 1992, there were 3 ,247 stolen vehicles representing an 87 % increase. Last year, it went up 44 % and so far in the first quarter of 1994, there have been 1 ,621 vehicle thefts in Omaha. If that trend continues, Omaha could see another big jump in this category with over 6 ,400 cars stolen in 1994. Captain London. It's a business in a lot of cities through the nation, where they have chop shops, where they cut cars up, sell parts and things like that. Here in Omaha, I think this great increase is related to the actions of youth. And maybe somewhat of a joy -writing mode, although they do steal cars

to commit crimes, to use it while committing crimes such as burglary and robbers and things like that. But predominantly, it's a joy -writing type thing. Captain London says when chop shops are discovered in the Omaha area, the department shuts them down as soon as possible. He says the Omaha Police Department is working on specific deterrence to auto thefts, but he declined to share specifics. Overall, crime in Omaha in the first quarter of 1994, compared to the same period in 1993, is up 7%. Homicide is up 20%, rape is down 13%, robbery is up 50%, aggravated assault is up 11%, with burglary up 12%. Larceny theft in Omaha is down 20%, and finally motor vehicle theft, the first three months of 94, compared to the first three months of 1993, is up 135%. London says breakdowns of violent crime involving

juveniles between 1992 and 1993 show increases. No state figures on juvenile crime are available from the crime commission at this point. But Governor Ben Nelson says nationwide, juvenile crime is up, and there's no reason to believe Nebraska stats will buck that trend. 1982 to 1992, juvenile crime has gone up 49 .3 % overall, 34 .3 % of that overall increase, related to the most serious crimes, the robbery, rapes, murders, and the like. And 59 .9 % would be considered as the non, not as violent crimes. And the disturbing statistic that I mentioned was that 51%, that 13 and 13 between 13 and 15 year olds account for 51 % of that overall increase. Governor Nelson says he'll continue to push the legislature to consider boot camps for youthful offenders, and he says there's more to

fighting crime than increasing penalties. The State Board of Equalization is gearing up ahead of time for a meeting in July to consider property tax valuation adjustments, Keith Letton reports. This year, Tax Commissioner Barry Balka wants to make sure the State Board of Equalization and County assessors have all the information they need before the Board of Equalization meeting in July. That's why the Board called a special meeting Wednesday afternoon, so the Revenue Department staff could brief the Board on the progress of property tax equalization efforts across the state. Denny Donner is the head of the Revenue Department's property tax division. This started with last year's meeting when the Board clearly indicated that they wanted information. They wanted to see the process work. They would

participate in the process to the extent they could, they do whatever they could. They directed the department to basically do everything we could to assist the counties to provide information so that they could get the job done. But some counties have more work to do to bring tax valuations into compliance with constitutional provisions. Donner says about half of Nebraska's 93 counties have achieved the 95 to 100 % valuation target for residential and commercial property and the 80 % target for agricultural property. At this point, a lot of counties have done extensive work to identify the problems. A lot of counties have made adjustments but not have achieved the 95%. They've made adjustments and gotten close to 90 % in the 80s. I think to an extent it's a wait and see game. They are not comfortable with raising properties. Sometimes as much as 30 or

40 % to achieve the 95 % level because they haven't basically kept up on it on an annual basis. And to bring it to a current level that feels too much, they feel a little uns... They feel that some of their statistical information may not be as solid as they'd like it to be. And I think there's just some general feeling that there won't be a follow -up if they don't adjust. Donner says some counties may be waiting to see what happens when Douglas County completes its reassessment. Last year some rural counties complained bitterly that they were being pushed to complete reassessments while Douglas County was not. Donner acknowledges that some county assessors have small staffs and that makes the reassessment process difficult. But he also says the revenue department has an obligation to enforce tax policy. What we are trying to say is our job in the department of revenue, the assessor's job, is to enforce and minister the law that's in place. To provide the equity that the law would call for. We cannot step in to

all 93 counties and do the job for them. We recognize that. We can selectively concentrate on areas where it's bad. But our expectation is that the county assessors and county boards will do the job that the statute calls for them to do. All we want to do is facilitate them doing the job by providing information. If it doesn't happen, if they don't do their job, that's when the state board has to come in and perhaps make blanket adjustments. If tax valuations are not utilized between counties, some taxpayers may end up paying more than their share. What can happen to the taxpayer when the valuations aren't equal, there's going to be disproportionality in tax bills. If the average level of value of residential property is at 80%, and the average level of commercial property is 100%, the commercial property owner is paying more than their residential property. That's not what our statute calls for. When some taxpayers in part of the county are valued at 100 % of value, and some taxpayers in a different part of the

county are valued at 80 % of actual value, there's a disproportionality between those taxpayers at the different level. What is paying 20 % more than the other one? One thing that may encourage county assessors to update property valuations is the homestead exemption legislation that was passed in the 1994 legislative session. That law says if a county's valuations are lower than they should be, the state reimbursement for homestead exemptions will be decreased by an equal percentage. That's a good incentive, says Donna, but it shouldn't be necessary. Meanwhile, Donna says Wednesday's meeting will upset the stage for the board's meeting in July. This is the first time in my history of working with property tax, and it's a long time that the board has taken the effort, and this is the second special meeting they've held, just to review the process, just to see what's going on to basically make sure it's an open dialogue.

That the communication is going both ways so that the county people understand what their expectation is in them doing their job so that when it comes to the state boards time to review, they can have the confidence that the counties were fully informed, the counties understood what their responsibilities were, and perhaps if the counties didn't do their job, feeling better about maybe having to do it for them, or recognizing the counties who did make the extra effort and do their job and achieve equalization so that the job of the board becomes more review as opposed to actually taking action in place of the county. The largest financial gift ever given to the

Omaha Public Schools was announced today. The program is called the Pay Center Academy of Arts, Academics, Culture, and Sports. In the first year, 72 children will be involved. That's 12 each from grades 4 through 9 in the Omaha Public Schools. They'll attend after school and summer programs where adult and young adult mentors will tutor them in their school subjects and in life skills like decision making and money management and employment skills. Philip G. Schreger is owner and chief executive officer of the Pay Center Corporation. He says he wants to give Omaha's at -risk children opportunities they won't have without the Pay Center Academy program. I've been real lucky in life, and I think that I appreciate the breaks that I've received in terms of being

a white man in a white man society. I think it's unfortunate that there are other people who don't receive those kind of breaks, and so there's something that I can do or we can do to help them. Pay Center will contribute nearly $200 ,000 in the first year and more in succeeding years. The money will pay for a full -time executive director whose office will be in the Omaha Public Schools and for other part -time personnel, for transporting students, for equipment, supplies, rentals, and other expenses. During the school year, students will meet three evenings a week for activities intended to help them develop social and academic skills and to participate in cultural and sports activities. It'll require a big time commitment. Those kids are not going to make decisions for themselves with regard to a program like this. They're going to need someone to sign them

up so to speak or to encourage them to get involved and stay involved. In the summertime, students in grades four through eight will be required to participate in the program five days a week for six weeks. Older students who are likely to have jobs in the summer will be expected to attend one evening meeting a week. Schrager hopes students will get enough in terms of academic, social, and employment skills that they'll want to stay in the program through high school graduation. We want them to actually be a member of our Academy, so to speak, and have fulfilled a minimum number of years in that so that they learn the stuff that we are intent on teaching them. Be it cultural things, lifestyle skills, such as things like hygiene, proper dress, the way to conduct yourself in society, all of those kinds of things. Respect

for a job. Teaching them to just merely out of things. Students who participate in the Academy through high school will each receive a $2 ,000 scholarship each year for up to four years of college. They'll be nominated by teachers, principals, and counselors and selected by a committee from PACECITER and OPS. Dr. Don Benning, Assistant Superintendent of OPS, helped design the PACECITER Academy and has high hopes for it. Most young people are eager to learn. Sometimes they don't demonstrate that or show that because they haven't been successful. But putting in a setting or situation where it increases their chances of success, and you give them some successful experiences that will feed their interest in their effort level to such an extent that I think that

will eventually be turning individuals away from the program. Children at risk because of economic or cultural factors will be chosen for the Academy. 75 % of Academy students will be African -American. As the original 72 children move through school, more will be added so there are always 4 -12th graders involved for a maximum of 108 children each year. Phil Schrager says his reasons for contributing to the program are really very simple. I feel sorry for young kids who have to be brought up in the kind of society that we have today and there's a lot of disadvantages that they face. And they're certainly innocent and it's just very unfortunate so what we can do to correct that in some small way while we're going to try to do it. By September 1st of this

year, the first group of Omaha school children will be chosen to participate in the PACECITER Academy of Arts, Academics, Culture and Sports. The program is supported by a gift from the PACECITER Corporation of Omaha. For Nebraska Public Radio, I'm Carolyn Johnson. The MGM Children's Classic, The Wizard of Oz, is being presented on stage by the Emmy Gifford Children's Theatre in Omaha. Steve Adair reports. One of the most famous scenes in film is being presented almost daily at the Emmy Gifford Children's Theatre. A version of The Wizard of Oz by Virginia Coasty relies heavily on the novel and includes the author, Elle Frankbaum, as the stage manager. Mark Hager, artistic director for the theater, is learning his acting talents in that role. What the playwright Virginia Coasty was trying to do was to find a way to give room to Frankbaum

into the story of The Wizard of Oz. It's become now so associated with the MGM film that it's easy to lose track of the original author. And I think by creating the device of the author being on stage and telling his own story, it helps remind the audience that may not be familiar with that original source that this was created by this character. The theater offers three productions for the general public on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But the rest of the week, the theater is filled with bust loads of great school students. Mary Jane Smith teaches Kindergarten at St. Mary's School in Bellevue. Before the show, she held discussions with the students about the performance. Well, we talked this morning about interpretation, about somebody, the way they interpret a story, and it may be different. We went over the main characters and what to look for, but we also talked about how things might be a little bit different. Because at a Kindergarten level, it does tend to confuse them if it doesn't follow what it's like in the movie that they've seen. The different relies heavily on a regular cast of actors who appear in every

show. Laura Mars guest starring in the role of Dorothy, and during the past few weeks has gotten her share of questions from the audience about her character. They're really interested in the visual parts of the production because this production is very visual. It's got a lot of style, a lot of music. I think technically it's one of the best productions they've ever done here. And so there are a lot of questions about that, but of course there are questions about why does Dorothy want to go home? And what does she miss about home? Because when we first see her at home, she doesn't seem very happy there. And it's what she finds within herself, really, that makes her want to go back. The cast is intergenerational in that there are about a dozen children portraying munchkins and winkies in the play. Munchkins are good, nice people, and winkies are slaves. They're mean people, but they really have no choice. We have to walk kind of like we're hypnotized when we're winky, and when we're a munchkin, we have to walk kind of like we're walking through fog or something

really heavy. And it's been really fun because you get to meet lots of new people, and there are some really good experiences here. Before the curtain went up, there was an air of apprehension, especially among the younger students, on where the wicked witch was hiding. Pam Carter is well known in the theater for a portrayal of villainesses, and uses that to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. It's very funny. You'll go out there to question an answer into the audience, and even like the third graders will say, did you really disappear? Did you really melt? So you have to remember that, you know, really four kids, even though you're right there, it's so much of what they see is so believable to them. And they want to believe. They want to think that you can do that. I'm sure it's part of their fantasy. They want to think that you can melt and that you can fly and that you can do all those kind of things. The wonderful Wizard of Oz will continue through May 28th at the Emmy Gifford Children's Theater at 35th and Center. Curtain time is 7pm on Fridays, 2pm on the weekend. For Nebraska Nightly, I'm Steve Adair and Omaha. Nebraska Nightly is a production of the Nebraska Public Radio Network, Keith Ludden and Carolyn Johnson

are associate producers. Dave Hughes directs the show, Jeff Smith is our audio engineer tonight, and I'm Nancy Finken producer. We had help this evening from KVNO Omaha. The views and opinions expressed on the preceding program are those of the commentators, interviewees and guests, and not necessarily those of the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission. Or the staff and management of the Nebraska Public Radio Network. Program

for 5 .1994. It's now 6 .30 Central Time. How safe was the Cooper Nuclear Power Plant during last year's flooding? We'll explore the issue tonight on Nebraska Nightly. I'm Nancy Finken. Coming up, Keith Ludden reports that although the reactor at Cooper Nuclear Station was in a cold shutdown during the peak of flooding last summer, there may have been more flooding at the station than the public knew about. The main concern we had about that was that this was another incident of the Cooper Management being willing just sort of to work around the problem at the time. And we thought that they needed to pay more attention to the whole thing, the same thing. The Federal Reserve has tinkered again with interest rates, a Creighton economist thinks this may be the last time for a while. What primarily concerns them the most, I think at this point is what's going to be happening on the inflation front. And if the data pretty much mirror what was seen the first few months of this year, then I think they'll sit back and

hope that what they've done so far may be enough. As part of Armed Services Day, the Strategic Air Command Museum at Offer Air Force Base in Bellevue is letting the public crawl through some bombers. We'll take you there and we'll have commentary from Kelly Shweezo, a senior at Broken Bow High School. But first this news from Dave Hughes. Planned Parenthood officials are ready to go to court to force state compliance with a federal regulation requiring expanded abortion services through Medicaid. The issue arose after the Department of Social Services conducted a brief public hearing today in Lincoln on the proposed regulation that would have the state pay for abortions that are performed for victims of rape or incest. Governor Ben Nelson's Chief of Staff Tim Becker says the services will not be provided until the regulation is in place, which could be years from now. A woman at the center of a three -way adoption battle says she lied about how she became pregnant. Jessica Bab says she hoped that telling her attorney she became pregnant after being raped

would make it easier for her to give her baby up for adoption. Bab says she was ready to give up her child, Joy Lynn Bab, until the moment she began reading the relinquishment papers. Bab testified at a hearing in Lancaster County District Court today in an effort to regain custody of her five -month -old child. It might be tomorrow before all of the free -on is flushed from the Franklin water system. The chemical refrigerant contaminated the South Central Nebraska town's water after an accident with an air conditioner at a nursing home. To solve the problem, the entire water system for the town of 1100 people is being flushed out. The water can be used for bathing and watering lawns, but drinking is not advised. Governor Nelson is happy that the Senate version of the Safe Drinking Water Act eases testing requirements. The governor says that means Nebraska cities and towns would save millions of dollars over the next four years under the loosened standards.

And the National Park Service has revised its plans for a top agency official to visit Agate Fossil Bed's National Monument in Northwest Nebraska. The visit was promised last month when Agate supporters and Nebraska's two U .S. senators met with park officials in Washington. Friends of Agate President Paul Hofmeister says the decision for Deputy Director John Reynolds to visit Nebraska is a good sign. It could signal the possibility of accelerated funding to complete the permanent exhibits at the new visitor center museum. And hopefully this means the money will be forthcoming and forthcoming a lot sooner than we anticipated in the past. Some fossil exhibit work is underway using private funds raised by the Friends Group. Another $1 .3 million is needed to complete exhibits and

cases for the rest of the paleontology and Native American displays. For Nebraska Nightly, I'm Dave Hughes. During the height of last summer's flooding, engineers and power company officials watched anxiously as river levels rose at the nuclear power station near Brownville. Keith Leden reports that there may have been more flooding at Cooper nuclear station last summer than the public was aware of. It should be said at the beginning of this report that during the worst flooding from July 24 through July 29, 1993, the reactor at Cooper nuclear station was in a cold shutdown. The process of shutting down the plant began with the decision to shut the plant down on the morning of July 23, because Agis and County Missouri officials indicated they could not support emergency evacuation plans due to flooded roads. Although officials at the plant said in mid July that the building of a sandbag dyke around the plant was precautionary, in March of 1994, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent out

an information notice to nuclear power operators indicating there had been significant flooding inside the plant. Some of the flooding occurred in underground radiologically controlled areas of the plant, but activist Diane Burton of Auburn says that's not what local residents were being told. Everything was absolutely under control that they had no flooding in the building that minor dyke had broken and there was flooding in the area of a training area, but that they've been able to remove most of the equipment from that area before the flooding. Nor is it what Paul Gunter of nuclear information resources in Washington DC says they were being told. At least everything that we were hearing was that at least the plant was staying dry inside, even though from pictures that we were seeing of the plant, there was water intrusion on three sides of the plant. In fact, an inspection report from late July of 1993 found that water was leaking into the plant at a rate of 50

gallons a minute or 6 ,000 gallons an hour. Some of the water reached electrical cables that operate the high pressure coolant injection pump. Guy Horn and NPPD Vice President says although that pump is a safety related item, it was out of service at the time because the plant was shut down. Water also reached control boxes in the feed water pump room and electrical components for the reactor core isolation cooling pump. Joe Gilliland of the NRC says the reactor core isolation pump is not the main pump circulating coolant through the reactor and there were no safety problems during the flooding. It was in cold shutdown. It had gone into a complete cold shutdown and the reactor core was being cooled by what we call the residual heat removal system, which is a different system altogether. But we just noted the fact that this water was coming in through the walls, through penetrations in the walls because of the pressure of the groundwater. That was an important operational system where some of the electrical controls were getting wet.

Gilliland also says the cables that were getting wet were duplicated elsewhere in the plant and the controls that were affected were checked and cleaned before the plant was allowed to resume operations. But Gunter wonders what happened to all that water that leaked into radiologically controlled areas. What was the quantity of this water? What are the contamination levels? And where is that water now? Where is it being stored? Horne says the water that leaked into the plant was processed. We keep all water internally until it's processed. We don't just have water run into the plant and pump it back out. It's a control process. We have a filter and a demenalizer process. In other words, it's stored in tanks and then processed through a filtering system and a purifying system. Even though there were large amounts of water leaking into the plant, Horne says the red -washed tanks inside the plant can hold up to 100 ,000 gallons.

Gunter also worried about the possibility of a station blackout, meaning all power to the facility both on -site and off -site is cut off. The risk of station blackout was paramount to our concern given that we had no idea how long flood rotters would basically cause the plant to be reliant on off -site power. And in the event of flooding were to stage where you would even thread off -site power, that's where our concern is that you can have an accident of the overheating of the fuel and the overheating of the spent fuel pool. Those are scenarios that we were very concerned about. Gilliland says a station blackout would not have occurred because diesel generators at the station were operating and would have been able to keep the station running. There had been problems with one of the generators a few

days earlier when it came on when it was not supposed to. Although the Missouri River reached levels no one anticipated during the last week in July of 1993, water seepage was something plant officials had been warned about. After an inspection in mid -July, NRC officials commented on water leaking into the plant. According to the inspection report in late July, it was not until the morning of July 25th, two days after the decision to shut the reactor down that plant officials formed a task force to find out how much flooding had occurred and assess the damage. That was done at the request of NRC inspectors. The following morning, NRC officials complained that the task force had only provided a general assessment of the damage and had not been sensitive to the potential damage to equipment. Joe Gilliland. The main concern we had about that was that this was another incident of the Cooper management being willing just sort of to work around the problem at the time. And we thought that they needed to pay more attention

to the whole thing. Last January, the NRC sent a letter to NPPD expressing concern about declining performance at the plant and suggesting Cooper nuclear station might be placed on a troubled plant list. Plant officials will meet with NRC officials next week, and NPPD Vice President Guy Horn says he'll be able to defend the plant's performance. We've had an aggressive program in place since the fall of 93 to, first of all, alleviate that perception and to correct the condition. In other words, we have implemented a very aggressive program to ensure ourselves that we don't work around problems. And we think that we have demonstrated that that is no longer the case at Cooper station. At least one state official has expressed concern that there was so little information about the flooding inside the plant before the March information notice.

Gilliland says a report that was sent to state officials did mention the formation of a task force to look into the leakage, but getting the plant safely shut down was the first priority. He says the NRC stands ready to brief state officials on on -site conditions in such situations. For Nebraska Public Radio, I'm Keith Luggen. This week, the Federal Reserve Board raised interest rates for the fourth time this year, in contrast to the anxiety caused by the previous issue. The Federal

Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Board. By the Fed in order to install inflation sometime in the future and the Fed wasn't moving fast enough along that course and I think after seeing that happen three times, this fourth time the Fed went ahead and increased the Federal Funds rate by 50 basis points, trying to give the financial markets some additional reassurance and the markets responded as the Fed was hoping, namely that long -term interest rates fell a little bit in the stock market rose. And the previous three episodes would be just the opposite, long -term rates were rising, the stock market was falling. So are we to think then this is the last we'll see of this kind of activity for a while at least? Most people I think expect the Fed to sit back and watch and see what happens for a month

or so and watch the data. What primarily concerns them the most I think at this point is what's going to be happening when the inflation front. And if the data pretty much mirror what was seen the first few months of this year then I think they'll sit back and hope that what they've done so far may be enough at least until the middle of the year. And then after that at some point they'll probably need to raise rates a slight bit but I don't see them doing a whole lot between now and the end of the year unless the inflation numbers suggest that we're headed for some inflation in the future say something well above three percent. What indicators has the Federal Reserve been looking at to indicate that there might be a problem with inflation on the horizon? Well for one thing we've seen about two years of very robust growth in the money supply and bank reserves and historically when that happens that has led to future

inflation. So I think that's one thing they're considering is the strong money supply growth we've seen and what that may mean for inflation the next year or so. Second thing I think is that near the end of 1993 the economy showed very strong growth and a lot of that momentum seemed to carry into this year and so they're thinking the economy has finally picked up and it is true that the interest rate sensitive sectors in the economy such as home building automobiles business investments so forth they started to show a lot of strength at the end of the year in the beginning of this year. And so I think the Fed was looking at that and deciding that the economy was starting to get ahead of steam and that was no longer necessary for monetary policy to try to be accommodating growth and stimulating the economy and if they had taken that path too much longer then in the not too distant future they'd see some inflation that was beyond their comfort level. Some people of course are critical of the Federal Reserve's decision senator X and today said that

the Federal Reserve was seeing a boogie man that wasn't there that there was no inflation problem looming and that he didn't think that they needed to tinker with the interest rates again. Well I think the problem with inflation as you can't sit here in May of 94 and know what's going to be happening in December of 94 June of 95. The fact is that there are some potential items out there on the rise and that could lead to some inflation and not too distant future and I think that's what's concerned the Fed. Now of course they don't want to tighten to the point where they can certainly slow down the economy even to the point of throwing us back into the recession that we saw in 1991. So you know there's a fine line out there you don't want to push on the accelerator too hard and the same time you don't want to put on the brakes. In my judgment what we're seeing now is the Fed is taking its foot off the accelerator and it's just about to neutral. In other words you might even argue that monetary policy is still a little bit on the loose side. It's not real restrictive even though interest rates have moved up we're still in a range of interest rates that are quite low given

the inflation rate and other factors in the economy. Going back again to what Senator Exan was talking about this morning he said that when the interest rates go up that really hurts the United States government because we have such a large debt carry and so when the interest rates go up we're paying even more and more on our huge federal debt. Well it is true that if you look at it from the perspective of the federal government's need to serve a debt that inflation and low interest rates are good for the federal government. On the other hand what's also good for the federal government is sustained growth because that for example increases their income tax revenues and it decreases what they have to put out unemployment compensation and so forth. So I think all in all what the federal government and the perspective of their debt carrying what they want to see is a strong growing economy and I think that's what the Fed is trying to achieve. Now there might be some dispute about what's the best way I go about that but I think that the course that we're on right now is reasonable in trying to achieve that objective.

I think that you might even see long -term interest rates come down a little bit as I mentioned earlier the market reaction to this latest move was for long -term interest rates to come down quite substantially and that trend could continue a little bit I believe if the market continues to think that the Fed is pretty solidly concerned about inflation. And of course if that happens and that's going to lower the debt servicing cost of government. What about short -term rates? Well it seems a bit odd to say that short -term rates are rising and long -term rates are falling at the same time but the way that that happens is that in slowing down money supply growth that's going to translate into an immediate effect on short -term interest rates. But that is implications over the long -haul for a lower inflation rate and fears of inflation are really what are driving long -term interest rates right now. The reason why they go up these days is because people are afraid of inflation in the future and when you see them going up that's how you explain that. Right now if

you see them going down as they have the last day or so you explain that by saying that people are a little bit less concerned about a place. People who are interested in buying homes wonder what they should do if long -term rates are maybe going to go down a little bit further or there's a chance they could go up. It's kind of a don't know to hold them or fold them right now. Well you know I have to preface whatever I say about this by saying economists have a lousy track record of predicting interest rates be they short -term or long -term but it looks to me that long -term interest rates can't go much higher than they have been in the last couple of weeks and so that there's not much upside risk at this point and there is a potential for them to drift down a little bit not a whole lot but somewhat. Dr. Joseph Phillips is an economics professor at Creighton University. Sunday the Strategic Air Command Museum in

Bellevue is holding its 10th annual crawl through for Armed Forces Day weekend visitors can see several of the aircraft on display just as Nina Galen did during a recent special visit. Outside the visitors center lies a sea of aircraft up front is the sleek SR -71 Blackbird fastest plane in the world flying it over 2000 miles per hour and above 85 ,000 feet. My guide chief of restoration Mark Trump and I stop to look at several others including one fabled bomber. Okay this is a B -17 it's a Boeing product it's a World War II bomber. It was the mainstay of the Eighth Air Force flying out of England over to bomb Germany. Moving through the fuselage we passed two gunner positions then the radio room which once sported a gun turret manned by the radio operator. The B -17 had fairly bristled with guns to protect its precious cargo of men and bombs. We arrived at the Bombay shades of Indiana Jones. Wow this is very narrow it's like walking

along over a canyon on a plank of wood except it is metal and it's really after squeeze. The small size of the B -17's Bombay made it necessary to send many aircraft to deliver a large amount of bombs Trump explained. Moving along we reached the cockpit. Up up here on the left you have the pilot seat and on the right you have the co -pilot seat. If you want underneath here that's where the bomber deer the navigator would be. There's a big clear window out there where they could see. Oh I better go down. It is warm in here. This is the nose of the B -17 and this round area right here would be a chin turret and that was fired automatically. We'd have the big glass area here where the bomber deer would be looking out when he dropped his bombs. Also the navigator would be sitting over here planning to route to the

targets over Germany. One highlight of Sunday's crawl through will be the Museum's B -36 which is scheduled for restoration after which it will remain permanently closed to the public. Trap and I entered the huge bomber through its nose wheel well. The B -36 was sacks largest bomber in that it had wingspan to 230 feet and that was longer than the Wright Brothers first flight. This was a nuclear bomber. It was meant to deliver the big Mark 17 bomb that we just saw before we came into the aircraft and it can hold two of those bombs. It was first designed in 1941 in case we lost our bases in Europe that we would have an intercontinental bomber that could leave the United States bomb Russia or bomb Germany and then make it back to the United States without refueling. So here we are in the what? We are in the nose of the B -36 and again

like in the B -17 this will be where the navigator and bomber deer sit. He's got a huge glass window that he can look out of. His radio is over here and the bomber deer has this bomber deer stand and now we'll be going back to the radio room. This little area back here is the radio room and we have a number of small tubes or doors that go to tubes. Now this door right here will go to an 80 foot tube and it goes all the way back to the back of the aircraft. It's pressurized and they can they have a big galley in the back of the aircraft. They can send the food forward or they can get on this little cart and go all the way back into the air plane where they have six bunks. Because when this plane took off it usually had missions of 20 hours or plus so there's a lot of flying that this airplane did.

Okay we're now in the top cockpit where the pilot sit and you can see controls for the six recipe engines are up here. In addition to that this airplane had four jets mounted in later modification so this was a ten engine bomber. Behind the wings six gigantic propellers at each wingtip two small jets. In the cockpit B -36 crew members would sit back -to -back monitoring hundreds of tiny gauges on two huge instrument panels which covered walls and ceiling. The pilots made the plane fly the flight engineer made it operate efficiently. The usual crew was 18 26 on longer flights when more pilots and flight engineers were needed. To get the most out of Sunday's SAC museum crawl through how should you dress the museum's executive director Jim Burton. Come prepared for easy comfortable movement in tight places

and come prepared to enjoy the day. And if you do you will. For Nebraska Public Radio I'm Nina Galen. It's the final countdown to graduation for high school seniors in Nebraska. Kelly Shuizo of Broken Bo High School wrote this final essay in her composition class. I'm graduating in one week and I'm horrified. I have to leave. I have to leave my family and my friends. I have to leave my cabbage patch kids in the guest room closet. It was just yesterday I took turns sleeping with each one of them so they wouldn't get lonely. I'm not a kid anymore. I always wanted to grow up but I never thought I would have to. I'm not afraid to leave or to be on my own.

In fact I'm ready to. I'm afraid of the time I've wasted the last 17 years. The time I wish I would have spent doing something else. Call it regret. I wish I would have memorized minuet in D minor instead of running through my scales once. 10 minutes before my piano lesson. I wish I would have gone to my brother's football games instead of staying home on the couch so I wouldn't miss the top 20 countdown on MTV. I also fear failure. I don't want to flunk out of college and I don't want to be a loser. When I get to school I almost want to completely close my eyes to everything and just be a prisoner in my own narrow -minded world. I've heard horror stories of kids who have taken up other pursuits and quit school. I don't want that to happen to me. I don't want to let my life slip away, leaving only the memory of unmet goals. I hope the rest of my life doesn't go by as fast as these years have. I'll be dead in the blink of an eye. What should I feel when I graduate?

Shouldn't it be a happy time? Well, I don't feel happy. I've always done well in school. I think I'm a pretty good kid and I don't get in trouble much. Why is it then that I regret so much? And I'm not happy. This is probably the most significant turning point of my life up until now, but the thing is I don't know which way I'm turning. I'm scared I'm going to die with these same regretful feelings. When I'm on my deathbed, will I be able to say I accomplish what I want to in my life? Will I be able to say that I told my grandfather I loved him? I hope so. Life is short. A ride of passage like this just brings it all into perspective. Every moment is precious, but there aren't enough of them to waste. Kelly Shweezo is a senior at Broken Bow High School. Nebraska Nightly welcomes commentary from your town. If you'd like some information, call 4024727722, leave your name and telephone number. Nebraska Nightly is a production of the Nebraska Public Radio Network. Keith Blooden and Carolyn Johnson are associate

producers. Dave Hughes directs our show and Jeff Smith is the audio engineer tonight. I'm Nancy Finken producer. We had help this evening from KCNI Broken Bow, KCOW Alliance and KQSK Shadron. The views and opinions expressed on the preceding program are those of the commentators, interviewees and guests and not necessarily those of the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission or the staff and management of the Nebraska Public Radio Network. Program for 524. Supporters of term limits rally on the state capital steps. This is Nebraska Nightly. I'm Nancy Finken. The people who struggled to put term limits on the ballot are not taking it in stride that the state Supreme

Court ruled the measure in valid because there weren't enough petition signatures. Today on this bright, sunny day, there's a dark cloud over the state of Nebraska. A dark cloud that is functionally taken from the people, one of their most precious rights. We'll go to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Lincoln where Jackie Kennedy Onassis was remembered today. Kansas wants to make sure Nebraska isn't sending chemicals down the blue river. There have been times whenever the level of atrazine, for example, has substantially exceeded the three parts per billion maximum contaminant standards set by the federal government at times in certain locations, 40 or 50 parts per billion. The State Director of Veterans Affairs talks about this weekend's activities in celebration of Armed Forces Day. We'll have more on these stories, but first this news from Dave Hughes. The petition process and term limits were the topics of a

press conference and rally today in Lincoln, which was attended by about 30 people. They're calling for a special session of the legislature that would put the term limits amendment back on the November ballot along with a constitutional amendment that clarifies the number of signatures needed for a successful petition drive. Carolyn Johnson has the story. The Nebraska State Constitution says the first power reserved by the people is the initiative whereby laws may be enacted and constitutional amendments adopted by the people independently of the legislature. Speakers at the rally in Lincoln say this power is lost if the Supreme Court decision throwing out the term limits amendment is allowed to stand. On May 13th, the Nebraska Supreme Court said the adoption of the term limits amendment was invalid because the petition that put it before the voters did not have enough signatures. Charlie Claus helped lead the petition drive for the term limits amendment. We put together a hard effort and followed the law as it was described to us and now because of I guess the whim of some judges is being thrown out and we're not happy about that.

In interpreting contradictory language in the Constitution, the Supreme Court concluded that about 90 ,000 signatures are required rather than 58 ,000, which was the opinion of the Secretary of State. The decision puts five current petition drives in jeopardy because they must now gather at least 30 ,000 more signatures than anticipated. Kent Burnback of the Committee for Concerned Citizens for Petition Protection is gathering signatures for a ballot issue that would amend the Constitution to prevent the legislature from overturning successful petition drives. We're disappointed in the Supreme Court ruling but we're also disappointed in the leadership from the governor's office not to try to correct this thing before it goes too long. July 8th is the deadline for submitting petitions for issues to be placed on the November ballot but the complaints go beyond concerns about what happens to current petition drives. These groups also worry about the future of the petition process in Nebraska. Paul Shoemaker is legal counsel for the Nebraska Cooperative Lottery Commission which had planned

a petition to place a video lottery issue on the November ballot. Today on this bright, sun shiny day, there's a dark cloud over the state of Nebraska. A dark cloud that is functionally taken from the people, one of their most precious rights. A right that they reserve first to themselves in the Constitution of this state. The groups represented at the rally don't agree with each other on all the issues but the petition process itself brings them together. Common cause Nebraska is represented by Jim McFarland who's working on the drive to place the ethics issue on the ballot. In the petition efforts you find Democrats, Republicans, Independents working side by side circulating petitions. I don't think you can say there's any partisan bent to them. If I were to categorize it, I would say it's more of a populist issue that the people are actually expressing their views and wanting to enact laws by that process and therefore it puts government

in the hands of the people through that process. And it's a process that we've had preserved in Nebraska for many years and with the understanding that there was a required number of signatures to get but a manageable one. Former State Senator John DeCamp says he's led enough petition drives to be an expert and knows how important the process is to democracy. So it's a subject dear to my heart because in a state like Nebraska with a unit camera and non -partisan legislature only type of structure like it in the United States. The balance to that, believe it or not, balance is the other house of government, the other house of government in this case is the people's house which is the initiative referendum process. It's the only check and balance the state has and when you eliminate that which has effectively happened that you've eliminated one complete branch of government. Other interested observers were at the rally including Helen Bussalis, former mayor of Lincoln and one time candidate for governor. I'm always in all my political life and in my civic

responsibilities believe that the citizens had the tools available to them to make government respond as government should respond to the people. But this latest Supreme Court decision and what it means have shattered that faith a little bit because it's taking another right away making it far more difficult for people to initiate the kind of action they think is important. And I'm very disappointed in the legislature, in the governor in the Supreme Court, all those who had a had and will have a part to play in rectifying this. Lincoln Senator Chris Butler, present as an observer says there's an equilibrium of power between the citizen petitions and the legislature and that that equilibrium should be protected and restored. He also has an opinion with regard to term limits. Once the people have spoken on something then I think that it's imperative for the legislature to react and to do and to follow the ultimate democratic dictate which is the dictated of the people themselves to do what they authorized and directed.

Butler's campaign opponent Cheryl McShane was not at the rally but says she's not terribly disappointed that the Supreme Court is requiring more signatures on petitions. McShane says the Constitution should be amended only after careful study. Governor Nelson says he will not hold a special session but that he will work with senators before the next session of the legislature to build support, to reinstate term limits and to change the Constitution to clarify the number of signatures needed on petitions. Attorney General Don Stenberg has called on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. For Nebraska Public Radio, I'm Carolyn Johnson. The Big Blue River Compact has accepted a water quality report aimed at reducing levels of nitrates and atrazine in the Big Blue River

Basin, Keith Ludden reports. Representatives of Kansas and Nebraska, along with federal agencies, have approved a plan to study the Blue River Basin to get a better understanding of where chemicals are concentrating and how the levels of those chemicals can be reduced. Kansas is particularly anxious to reduce levels of atrazine showing up in Tuttle Creek Reservoir north of Manhattan, Kansas and throughout the Blue River Basin. David Pope is the chief engineer for the Kansas Division of Water Resources. There have been times whenever the level of atrazine, for example, has substantially exceeded the three parts per billion, a maximum contaminant standard set by the federal government at times in certain locations, 40 or 50 parts per billion. Now, averages tend to be right around the three, two to four level depending on when you take the measurements and so what we're after is just that the levels are staying within the tolerance. That, he says, is important to those who use the water. The Blue River forms one of the major tributaries to the Kansas River and that is a water supply that is used extensively for public

water supply. The cities of Topeka, Lawrence, the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side of the line are major users of that water source for drinking water. That's why Pope says Kansas would like to see changes in agricultural practices in Nebraska that would limit the chemical contamination. The water quality report calls for a $200 ,000 study of the Big Blue Basin to find out which watersheds are the major contributors of contaminants like nitrates and atrazine. Nebraska director of water resources, Michael Jess. The first phases, if you will, of the investigation will be in the Big Blue River Basin with work later on then into the Little Blue River Basin. Generally, it's felt from what we know that problems are probably greater in the Big Blue River Basin and so the attention first is focused on that area. Preliminary studies gleaned from surface water samples at various locations show

high concentrations of nitrates and atrazine just below the Tuttle Creek Reservoir and at the confluence of the Big Blue River and the Little Blue River. Jess says last year's heavy rainfall contributed to those spikes. You got a recall 1993 was a summer of lots of rainfall and so the chemicals that were applied to the land there was a great deal of potential for rainfall runoff to carry them into the streams and rivers. And that was a little bit of a surprise to those who were studying the effects of last summer's heavy rainfall. The conventional wisdom has been that with large volumes of water flowing in streams there would be a dilution effect. There were some locations in the Great Plains where that appeared not to be the case. Concentrations were higher than expected in spite of very high and even flood waters. So part of our study efforts are going to be directed at trying to

answer that question. The study will take place over a two -year period from October 1994 through October 1996 with the assistance of the US Geological Survey. Some of the cost of the study may be paid for through grant funds from the EPA. One portion of the basin is already taking steps to reduce non -point source pollution. John Turnbull of the Upper Big Blue Natural Resource District says his organization has already declared a special groundwater protection area and is developing an action plan to reduce groundwater pollution from nitrates. The plan would restrict the application of anhydrous ammonia before November 1st and restrict the application of liquid and dry fertilizers before March 1st. The other items in there is we are asking people to do deep soil sampling to find out how much nitrogen carry over there is prior to fertilizer applications and also do irrigation scheduling so we don't over irrigate. Over irrigation can cause the leaching of nitrogen through the soil profiling to groundwater table. In addition to the studies recommended by the Blue River Compact, Candice and Nebraska

officials also hope to establish some education programs to reduce ground and surface water pollution. I think it's generally felt that if the amounts or the volumes of chemicals can somehow be reduced, the timing of their application is another factor. If the application can be put on just shortly ahead of when it's needed say for herbicides or for pesticides that the likelihood of runoff and contamination of water would be diminished. The educational efforts will go in that direction to try to educate growers, users of chemicals on the more ideal time for their application or possibly reduced concentrations. But the problem may not be solved quickly. Turnable observed during the meeting that it took 30 years to build up the nitrate and atrazine levels and it will probably take a long time to

solve the problem. For Nebraska Public Radio, I'm Keith Ludden. The bells at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in downtown Lincoln across from the capital rang as usual at noon today, just 10 minutes before mass. While the mass was not offered for the soul of Jackie Kennedy onassus, Mrs. Onassus was no doubt on parishioners' minds. Father Paul Witt, pastor of St. Mary's, included onassus in his petitions. Father Witt says receiving the sacrament of the sick was an

important part of Onassus's life. I think all of us are real pleased to know that her pastor saw her shortly before she died and gave her what's called the sacrament of the sick, the last rights. Well, the last rights includes the sacrament of the sick and what's called the apostolic blessing. And for a Catholic to receive that, you know, that's saying you are really in the best of graces that you possibly can be. So a happy death means you're dying in the closest possible relationship you can get with God, and that's the name of the game anyway. As the only Catholic presidential family, the Kennedy's father, Witt says, made fellow Catholics proud. There was some concern, I think, on the part of a lot of people back 30 years ago when he was running for the presidency, that, well, now the Vatican's going to take over and the Pope's going to be ruling the country and all that, but that didn't prove to be true at all. President Kennedy was President of the United States, and he was also a Catholic, and I would hope always Catholic first, but also president, because faith comes first. Outside St. Mary's after mass, two women stopped to talk about a NASA's. I was kind of shocked because they

had been saying that it was the routine hospital visit, and I was sorry to hear it. Did you pray for her today? Yes, simply maybe I didn't church. I did with the others in church. How significant do you think it is that the Kennedy family was Catholic and they were in the White House for a short time, but nonetheless they were there? Well, it broke down a lot of barriers, I think, that people had thought before there couldn't be a Catholic president. And so, I think it helped. Do you think we'll see another Catholic president? Oh, I think we could easily. Just the same as any other now, probably, more than when he was president. I think the chances are greater now that we could. I think she was a real classy lady. What do you remember about her during the presidency and after the president's death? Well, I think most of all are boys and, uh, way she handled herself. I thought she was remarkable. Her listeners took time after noon mass at St. Mary's in downtown Lincoln today

to reflect on the life and the death of Jackie Kennedy on assets who died last night at her New York apartment. Tomorrow will be a day for remembering World War II veterans in Nebraska. Governor Ben Nelson, in two ceremonies to be held at Millard in Grand Island, will proclaim Nebraska a World War II commemorative state. Keith Leiden talked with Nebraska director of Veterans Affairs, Jonathan Sweet, about the commemoration. Mr. Sweet, is this year's Armed Forces a, uh, a little special given the emphasis on the 50th anniversary of World War II? Yes, it's significant the fact that, uh, uh, we are starting a, uh, World War II commemoration, uh, then a statewide, uh, effort to,

uh, pay special tribute to our World War II veterans. Uh, Governor Nelson will be in Omaha and, uh, Grand Island tomorrow to officially, uh, proclaim Nebraska World War II commemoration state. And, uh, what this is is that the Department of Defense has organized this national effort and involves, uh, communities and organizations becoming, uh, World War II commemoration communities. And they go out and, uh, they have like several projects every year geared World War II veterans. And this would be, uh, things such as going to schools and talking to students about the impact of World War II, uh, having, uh, flag observances, uh, going to veterans homes and VA medical centers and chatting with World War II veterans. And just small things, but significant things that get to the heart of the service that these men and women give our country. How will the event be marked in, uh, Millard and Grand Island? There will, there will be some sort of, uh, of, uh, ceremony or, uh, observance? Yes, we have, uh, various, uh, representatives from, uh,

veterans that, uh, participate in World War II will have, uh, members of the ex -po -debt American ex -po -debt organization. They're giving reflections of an ex -po -debt you will have a, uh, women veterans who will give, uh, their aspect of, uh, their service. In the war, uh, in Omaha, for example, we have, uh, three veterans who are on Emma Gima, who will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. And Grand Island, we have a World War II veteran of the, of our Nebraska Veterans Home will lead the Pledge of Allegiance. So, uh, in Omaha, we'll have, uh, uh, uh, uh, Admiral Childs from, uh, the Commander Chief of Stratcom is honoring us with his presence. And, uh, Father Huff, the former Executive Director of Boys Town, who's a chaplain that World War II will give our, uh, our benediction. So, everything is geared towards, uh, the emphasis of World War II veterans. Well, there'll be a lot of, uh, World War II vets attending in both places? Well, we certainly hope so. We encourage them to attend. Uh, we have a good indications are that, uh, members from both, uh,

Thomas Fitzgerald, Veterans Home in Omaha, and the veterans home of Grand Island will be among the honorees attending. Hey, special tribute to them. Uh, we've sent on invitations to all the veterans organizations, and we have, we've getting very good feedback on it. Uh, I wonder if there will be, uh, a lot of old war stories told. Well, this is the occasion to do it, uh, uh, to share the memories and to, uh, and also occasion for a for us to appreciate, uh, what our World War II veterans did. It was the largest, the most extensive war in, uh, you know, the history of mankind. And there's been a whole generation now that, uh, has elapsed, uh, and primarily might not know anything about this war, it doesn't know the impact it has. So, part of the World War II commemoration is geared to, uh, to better informing, uh, the younger generations about the impact this war really had. From, uh, you know, the GI bill, uh, was the most, uh, successful problem of this kind. Uh, it was the war of where, uh, the teacher here at the man, for example, became, uh, the world's largest, gave birth to that and became the world's largest youth or strike force, uh, deterrence,

uh, the emergence of air powers. There was a lot of things in, in, in World War II that, uh, had a direct effect on where we are today. Do you think, uh, uh, generation X, I think it's called, uh, do you think they, they, uh, have very much of an idea of, of, uh, what that era was like? Uh, probably not. Uh, and I think it's probably, uh, you know, a responsibility to a better job of that. And maybe, we, as veterans have, uh, you know, uh, failed to, uh, to reach out and tell our story like we should have. And a lot of veterans don't want to talk about the wartime experiences. And, and the problem there is, is getting them to open up and say what it was really like. And, uh, God forbid we don't want another war. And, and to tell these people what the impacts of, uh, of, uh, of, uh, wars such as this are. With all the attention on, on the 50th anniversary of World War II for the past couple of years, uh, and going into, into, uh, a couple more years, uh, have perceptions about the war change at

all? Uh, I think so, I think that the, uh, as history, uh, uh, goes longer and I think the perceptions about what happened and the impact of this war are really, uh, they have to take hold now because every, every, almost every fiber of our community in our country can be traced back to what happened, you know, in World War II. And, uh, for example, the Japanese hit Pearl Harbor. And, uh, what would happen if they'd gone on to California? Uh, we had, uh, enemy submarines, uh, outside our shores on East Coast and down around four and so forth. So, you know, I think it does, the history continues and history records these events and, uh, we get a better appreciation about their significance as far as, uh, preserving the freedoms, uh, that we enjoy today. You know, I was doing some, uh,

some reading a year or so back, uh, of, uh, some materials from, from that era, arrow. And, uh, the one thing that I came away with from that reading was, uh, to the people who, who, uh, who experienced that, the world really must have seemed like it was in flames at the time. I don't think there's any doubt that that was, uh, you know, that was what the presumption was, but also we had, you know, our country band together in unity. We had housewives going to factories, uh, we call them Rosie the Riveters. And, they picked up machines and machinery and putting together airplanes. And, uh, we had, uh, families that said, you know, goodbye to their husbands and, and, and, and wives and so forth. And, and it was just, oh, the country is sort of band together. And I'm not too sure that we've had anything since then that had this great impact on, on our country. Do you think we'll ever see that kind of unity again? Well, if we do, I hope it's in peacetime. I certainly don't think that, uh, you know, the cost

of war, um, overshadows everything. And, and if we can do it, you know, without the, uh, another war, I was certainly hopeful. I have no, you know, I, I just think that, if you have to use something to click in our country to return us to, to our values. And, uh, we have economic pressures on families now, where we have, uh, husbands and wives both working and, and the, the family structure is already deteriorating. But we also have good signs too. We have good news. We have, you know, families are taking their kids out to ball games and getting involved and, and, uh, many community activities. And so we have a lot of good things in this country that, uh, on our forces stay in a more real day with, that we could be thankful for, because our veterans have shared those for us. Jonathan Sweet is the director of Veterans Affairs for Nebraska. Nebraska Nightly is a production of the Nebraska Public Radio Network, network manager Steve Robinson. Keith Leiden and Carolyn Johnson are associate producers. Dave Hughes directs Nebraska Nightly and Jeff Smith is our audio engineer tonight. I'm Nancy Finken,

producer. Music The views and opinions expressed on the preceding program are those of the commentators interviewees and guests and not necessarily those of the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission or the staff and management of the Nebraska Public Radio Network. Music

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